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Topic: Cyan again, naturally...

Ted Costas
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 119
From: Hollywood, CA, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 09-30-2004 04:38 PM

DreamWorks is currently sending out flyers that state their cyan declatation: "Surviving Christmas" will be DreamWorks second cyan analog soundtrack release. AND, that every subsequent film thereafter will also by cyan.

"Surviving Christmas" comes out on October 22, and it will be, so you are not surprised, a 60% cyan and 40% tradititonal release, with domestic prints being shipped at random. DreamWorks will increase their Cyan percentages as they feel more comfortable with the red-light reader penetration.

That is the fourth studio to make it official, and yes I still count MGM as a separate studio (until the dust settles and we see how the Sony purchase shakes out). That's four out of ten, or three out of nine, depending on how you look at it. Either way, our batting average is going up.

More soon.

Yours, Ted

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 09-30-2004 04:48 PM

Ted,

I believe your Disney status is not entirely correct...other than Mr. 3000...has Disney declared that any of their future releases are going to be in cyan? If so, which titles?

Steve

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Daryl C. W. O'Shea
Film God

Posts: 3977
From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from)
Registered: Jun 2002

posted 09-30-2004 04:58 PM

Disney suggested that they may switch to 100% cyan come January, but that was before (and during) the Mr. 3000 release. I haven't heard anything from them since.

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 10-01-2004 06:50 AM

quote: Steve Guttag
...has Disney declared that any of their future releases are going to be in cyan? If so, which titles?

Disney has announced that as of January 1, 2005, 100% of their prints WORLDWIDE will use cyan dye analog tracks:

http://www.dyetracks.org/BV-DisneyCanFlyer_July%202004.pdf

quote:
Buena Vista to Make the Switch to the
Environmentally Friendly Cyan Analog Soundtracks
Starting September 17, 2004
On September 17th, 2004, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution will release the Touchstone
Films comedy, Mr. 3000, with cyan dye analog soundtracks. This is the first Buena Vista
release to be printed with the new tracks. Starting on January 1, 2005, all Buena
Vista prints worldwide will have cyan dye analog soundtracks. The new process
offers significant environmental benefits.
To play the new analog soundtracks, your projector must be equipped with a visible
red light analog reader. Although this change does not directly affect playback of the
digital soundtracks, in the event of a digital soundtrack failure, the analog track
will have unacceptable sound without a visible red light reader. You can expect that with a
white light reader the sound will be 12dB lower than the digital track and with an infrared
reader you will have no sound.
If your projectors are not yet equipped with red light analog readers, contact your theatre equipment
dealer as soon as possible to arrange for replacement of your white light or infrared readers.
For further information about analog cyan dye tracks, the environmental benefits, and red light readers,
go to www.dyetracks.org
Note: The analog track is
Cyan in color.
© Disney Enterprises, Inc.

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 10-01-2004 12:02 PM

Hmmm...that doesn't jibe with what I have heard from two Disney people on recent screenings. Mr. 3000 was more of an experiment to test and see how red-reader compliant the world really was....Hence, Ladder-49 is not cyan even though it was released after Mr. 3K.

Steve

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 10-01-2004 01:00 PM

Steve, here is a snip from the quote above...

quote:
Starting on January 1, 2005, all Buena
Vista prints worldwide will have cyan dye analog soundtracks.

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Ted Costas
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 119
From: Hollywood, CA, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 10-01-2004 03:13 PM

Steve,

Yes, "Mr. 3000" is the first, but "Ladder 49", "The Incredibles", "National Treasure", etc. will not be cyan. If "Mr. 3000" was a disaster, they may have changed their declaration in their press release, but the odds are good it will stand. So look at Disney titles that come out after January 1, 2005, and you will find your next Disney cyan release. Everything released by the mouse between "Mr. 3000" and January 1 will be traditionally applicated analog soundtracks.

Yours, Ted

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 10-01-2004 03:44 PM

The Disney information sheet and the ShoWest announcement were quite clear about the January 2005 conversion date. I've heard of no problems reported with anyone playing cyan dye prints by any theatre properly equipped with red readers.

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 10-01-2004 04:32 PM

Brad, yeah, I caught the Jan 2005 thing...but again when speaking to Disney people it was not so clear cut.

It was more of using Mr. 3K to find the non-compliant theatres worldwide to see what the true status was. I know it generated several phone calls for some of "our" theatres.

I also have been informed that some theatres pulled Mr. 3K due to lack of red readers in their smaller screens (i.e. they only chose to upgrade the bigger screens and just won't play these films as long). Mind you, I'm NOT endorsing this practice. Just stating what has come up since Mr. 3K.

Here is a kicker...apparantly not all studio screening rooms are red-reader compliant either.

But hey, if they do they do...it just is inconsistant with what I've heard talking to multiple people now.

Steve

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Daryl C. W. O'Shea
Film God

Posts: 3977
From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from)
Registered: Jun 2002

posted 10-01-2004 04:51 PM

quote: Steve Guttag
Here is a kicker...apparantly not all studio screening rooms are red-reader compliant either.

That's because the cheap-ass theatre owners haven't got off their wallets and paid for the upgrades yet!

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